Chiya walked for most of the night, crossing the vast desert, and finally caught sight of a tower soaring into the clouds in the faint light of dawn.
Golden morning light spilled over the tip of the tower, casting a brilliant glow.
He stopped in his tracks, took out a scroll to confirm once more. This was the ancient country of Loran.
"Finally here."
Chiya released the Transformation Technique and returned to his original appearance.
He raised his head and looked at the city before him, a flash of surprise passing through his eyes.
Loran's architectural style was completely different from the ninja world.
The towering buildings were made of metal and glass, shimmering with a strange brilliance under the sunlight.
There were few pedestrians on the streets, but in the distance, some mechanical puppets could vaguely be seen on patrol.
Their movements were precise and cold, like a group of soldiers without life.
"What an unbelievable place."
Chiya murmured.
He stood still, closed his eyes, and sensed the flow of chakra in his surroundings.
Apart from the faint energy of the puppets, he also detected a vast and ancient chakra deep within the city.
'That must be the Dragon Vein from the legends.'
Just as he was preparing to move deeper inside, a gentle singing voice drifted over with the wind.
"A heart filled with a thousand feelings, the Dragon Vein I must protect,
Dust and storm arriving together, the radiant sun competing in its splendor!
Flowers dance and contend in beauty, the crimson eyes passed down through generations..."
The singing was ethereal and sorrowful, as though it were telling of some loneliness that could not be put into words.
Chiya's brow furrowed slightly. He activated the Body Flicker Technique.
He followed the sound.
At the edge of an abandoned elevated platform, he saw the girl who was singing.
Her back was to him, her deep red long hair tied behind her head.
The girl was wearing a cherry blossom pink long-sleeved jacket, paired with dark shorts and black knee-high socks. The look was simple and neat.
She gazed up at the sky, her pale violet eyes reflecting the morning light, yet brimming with tears.
Sara.
Sara.
Chiya drew closer. The sound of his footsteps startled her.
The girl spun around sharply. Seeing the stranger who had suddenly appeared, a flicker of alarm passed through her eyes, but it quickly settled back into calm.
"Who are you?"
She asked guardedly, her voice clear but carrying a faint tremor.
Chiya smiled slightly and raised both hands to show he meant no harm.
"My name is Uchiha Chiya. I'm a ninja from Konoha, sent here at the request of Loran's queen to deal with the abnormal incident."
The girl was taken aback for a moment, then lowered her head and said softly.
"I see. I am Sara, the queen of Loran."
Chiya was somewhat surprised. He had not expected the girl in front of him to be Loran's ruler.
He looked her over carefully and found that although her face was young, there was a quality of resolve and maturity between her brows.
"Your singing just now was beautiful, but it seemed very sad."
Chiya said quietly.
Sara wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and managed to squeeze out a faint smile.
"It's just, I was remembering some things from the past."
She stood up and brushed the dust off her skirt.
"Since you're here to help, come with me then. This is not a place to talk."
Chiya nodded and followed her through narrow alleyways to a hidden underground room.
The room was simply furnished, with only a table and a few chairs. On the wall hung a painting of Loran's queen holding a child.
"Have a seat."
Sara gestured for Chiya to sit down, then poured him a cup of hot tea.
The fragrance of the tea drifted through the air, carrying a faint herbal scent.
"Thank you."
Chiya accepted the cup and got straight to the point.
"Can you tell me what has happened in Loran?"
"Ever since my mother passed away, I began to notice some abnormalities in the city."
Sara's gaze flickered, and she spoke haltingly.
From the look of it, Sara was not telling the full truth.
Chiya crossed his arms and kept his eyes on Sara.
Sara felt increasingly uneasy under Chiya's gaze.
"Why, why are you looking at me like that?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Do you truly want to resolve Loran's problem?"
Hearing this, Sara's eyes went wide for a moment.
'What an unreasonable person.'
"The entire city draws on an abnormal chakra, like the roots of a plant, supplying power to the whole city. Why didn't you mention any of that?"
Sara was momentarily speechless.
"If you truly want to resolve Loran's problem, you need to tell me everything in detail."
Chiya stood up.
"If you're still going to hide things from me, then I'll just head back!"
Hearing this, Sara panicked immediately.
"Wait, I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything!"
Sara quickly stood up and grabbed Chiya's arm.
"Please forgive me, Chiya-dono. This matter concerns the life and death of all of Loran. And that abnormal chakra you mentioned just now, that is the power of Loran's Dragon Vein!"
"The power of the Dragon Vein has been growing increasingly unstable ever since my mother passed away. Please, Chiya-dono..."
Before she could finish.
A violent explosion rang out from above.
Sara's legs went weak and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Chiya reached out and steadied her.
At that moment, a massive tremor shook the area.
The surrounding buildings where Sara and Chiya were standing rattled several times.
Chiya looked up, his eyes lighting up.
He sensed a strange chakra that had suddenly appeared.
Chiya grabbed Sara's arm and dashed straight upward.
"Let's go check it out!"
By the time Chiya and Sara arrived.
In the sky, one flying puppet after another was bombarding a single spot.
Within the enormous cloud of dust, a human figure could vaguely be seen dodging rapidly.
"Fire Style, Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A blazing fireball shot out from within the cloud of dust.
Several nearby puppets instantly shut down.
A figure then burst out of the cloud of dust, holding a sharp long sword, with a pair of eyes that were the most striking thing about him.
Those were three-tomoe Sharingan!
Black hair, black eyes. He wore a pure white kimono, dark blue pants, and a shimenawa rope. On the back of the kimono was a small clan crest. Dark gray arm guards covered his forearms all the way to his palms, and a purple rope belt was tied at his waist.
'That appearance, isn't that Sasuke?'
Then a shout came from the other side.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Rasengan!!"
The bright blue sphere sent several puppets flying. The blond-haired boy landed steadily on the ground.
'Naruto? Is that Naruto?'
Chiya looked at the two of them, and for a moment felt a strange sense of overlapping timelines.
'Isn't this the main protagonist duo?'
'I seem to recall that in the original story, only Naruto comes here. Is this a butterfly effect I caused?'
Chiya's mind was a little jumbled for a moment, filled only with the sounds of the ongoing explosions.
"Done!"
The intense battle came as fast as it ended.
In just five short minutes.
The two stood together, looking at the scrapped puppets at their feet.
Naruto had not yet noticed the two pairs of eyes watching from the distance.
But the sharp-eyed Uchiha Sasuke had already spotted both Sara and Uchiha Chiya.
His eyes lit up.
"Come on."
"Huh?"
Sasuke dropped a single word to Naruto and flashed over directly toward Chiya and Sara.
Naruto saw this, paused for a moment, then quickly followed.
Sara saw them heading this way.
The hand gripping Chiya's arm tightened even further.
"Sasuke, Naruto?"
Hearing Chiya call out their names, Naruto, who had just caught up, widened his eyes.
He moved up close to Uchiha Chiya and looked him over carefully.
It seemed he had noticed something, because his eyes suddenly went wide.
He instinctively leaned his body back.
"Wait? You're Chiya... old man?!"
His gaze casually drifted toward Sara, who was holding Chiya's arm to the side, and he froze.
His whole face was full of disbelief.
"Sara, Auntie Sara?!"
"Why is it you two?!"
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